F 

122 



f HE BEGINNINGS OF 
NEW YORK 




KINGSTON THE FIRST 
STATE CAPITAL 



MARY ISABELLA FORSYTH 



i. 




Class 

Book 

Copyright N°_ 



_^___ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 






The Beginnings of New York 

Old Kingston, 
The First State Capital 



By 



MARY ISABELLA FORSYTH 




BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 

1909 



Copyright, 1909, by Richard G. Badger 
All Rights Reserved 



(O/d Kingston, the First State Capital, reprinted by 
courtesy of the New England Magazine.) 

The Gorham Press, Boston, U.S. A. 







©GU251875 



CONTENTS 



The Beginnings of New York . 7 

New York 30 

Old Kingston, the First State Capital 35 

A Ballad of Old Kingston . . 54 

An American Hymn 68 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 



The Beginnings of 
New York 

WHEN the report of the first explora- 
tion of the Hudson reached Hol- 
land it immediately called forth action on 
the part of the enterprising Dutch traders. 

It was at the time when Holland 
6 swept the seas," both from a naval and 
commercial point of view. So, in the 
year following the ascent of the " North 
River" by the Half Moon, the trade of 
w4iat is now New York began; continuing 
from that time, 1610, with ever increas- 
ing impetus. 

We can imagine how stimulating was 
the account given by Hudson and his 
crew, — how they told of fair, fertile lands 
cultivated by a friendly, intelligent people ; 
of grapes, pumpkins, and Indian corn; 
of vast forests and broad streams with 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

abundance of fish, fowl, and animals, 
whose skins would furnish the " peltries " 
so valuable for commerce. Some of this 
crew came back with the vessel that 
brought the first traders, and tradition 
tells of the rejoicing on both sides when 
they again met their Indian friends. 

Among the earliest of the Dutch voy- 
agers to explore our shores were Hendrick 
Christiansen and Adrian Block, who, in 
1611, carried back with them to Holland, 
for a short visit, two sons of an Indian 
chief as representatives of the inhabitants 
found on this side of the Atlantic. 

Block discovered Block Island which 
preserves his name. 

In 1612 Christiansen and Block were 
sent over in command of the Fortune and 
the Tiger, to seek trade along the Hudson. 
TheTiger, Block's vessel, was accidentally 
burned to the water's edge while anchored 
off Manhattan. The crew escaped to the 
shore and the energetic, undaunted com- 
mander immediately made preparation 

8 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

to winter on the island and rebuild his 
vessel. That winter of 1613-14 showed four 
huts built on what is now seen as 39 and 
41 Broadway, and the spring found the 
vessel — named the Onrust, or Restless 

ready for her voyage to Holland. 

" This beginning of ship-building/' says 
Scudder, in American Commonwealths, 
" was dependent upon Indian friendship 
and supplies." 

This was the year when Christiansen 
built a " strong house ' on Castle or 
Patroon's Island, a little below Albany, 
and called it Fort Nassau. Its dimen- 
sions were thirty-six by twenty-six feet. 
It had a stockade fifty-eight square with 
a moat eighteen feet wide, all armed by 
two large guns and eleven swivels. The 
garrison numbered ten or twelve men. 

In the same year a fort was established 
at what is now Kingston Point, and 
DeVries alludes to a settlement there at 
the mouth of the Rondout, at a very 
early date. 

9 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

Block was most energetic in securing 
to Amsterdam merchants a grant that 
would enable them to avail themselves 
of the opportunities of trade in the new 
lands along the Hudson, or the Mauri- 
tius as it was named, after Prince Maurice 
of Orange. On hearing his statements 
Barneveld remarked that " in course of 
time those extensive regions might become 
of great importance to the Dutch Repub- 
lic." The States General granted a 
charter on October 11, 1614, exclusively 
to visit and navigate the newly discovered 
land lying in America, "between New 
France and Virginia, now named New 
Netherlands. " 

The Dutch Company to whom this 
charter was granted made the first treaty 
with the Indians. 

In 1617, Fort Nassau having been 
nearly washed away by the breaking up of 
the ice in the upper Hudson, a new trad- 
ing house was erected and fortified at 
the mouth of what is now known as 

10 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

" Norman's Kill, " two miles from Al- 
bany. There was held a great council 
of peace with the Mohawks and their 
allies and an alliance was formed between 
the Dutch and the Iroquois. The belt 
of peace was held by both parties, the 
calumet was smoked, and the tomahawk 
was buried at a spot where the Dutch 
promised to build a church to cover it so 
that it could not be dug up. This treaty 
remained unchanged for twenty-eight 
years; renewed in 1645, it continued in 
force during the entire period of Dutch 
possession. 

Explorations went on northward to the 
" Fresh River," subsequently known by 
its Indian name " Conaghticought," and 
to the " South River," the Delaware. 
Up and down the Hudson coursed the 
Indian canoes, the Dutch shallops, a brisk 
trade the result. We can see it all in vivid 
picture, — the few houses on the south end 
of Manhattan, the canoes and an occa- 
sional Dutch yacht plying the glancing 

11 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

waters of the bay, the arrival from time to 
time of a high pooped vessel slowly mak- 
ing her way through the capacious harbor, 
usually a friendly Dutch brig or ship, but 
occasionally in those dubious times an 
English war vessel demanding acknowl- 
edgment of the claims of the English 
sovereign, — over all the bright sunshine 
so noticeable to those familiar with the 
gray skies often overhanging the North 
Sea. 

The first storehouse and fort was built 
on New Netherland in 1615. It was a 
small structure of logs around which were 
gradually built a few huts. 

It is a singular fact that the Plymouth 
Colony had proposed to come to New T 
Netherland, but the States General de- 
clined to welcome them. So it was 1623 
when the first organized party of colonists, 
chiefly Walloons, arrived and found, as 
their predecessors had done, welcome and 
ready help on the part of the original 
possessors of the land. 

12 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

The first colonists of New York were, 
as Hollanders, the descendants of those 
who in the sixteenth century had won 
what the pilgrims of New England sought 
there a century later,-- " freedom to 
worship God." 

The Walloons had either left their 
homes in France or the " low coun- 
tries," to escape persecution, finding 
refuge in Holland or Germany, or were 
descendants of those who for such reason 
had migrated there. Among these was 
the first Director General, Peter Minuet. 
In his case, as in many others, it has taken 
centuries to show how exceptional were 
his services, how unselfish his aims, 
how rare his judgment, how noble his 
record. The memorial tablet in the Col- 
legiate Church on Second Avenue fitly 
commemorates this first director, the first 
minister, and the Krankenbesockers or 
Ziekentroosters. Both these terms mean 
" Comforters of the sick," the latter apply- 
ing especially to the administering of com- 

13 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

fort to the departing soul. A form was 
provided for the use of these visitors of the 
sick, who also read from the Scriptures 
at the Sunday services in the absence of a 
minister. 

Cornelius Jacobsen May brought over 
thirty families in 1623. He went up the 
North River, settling there eighteen fam- 
ilies, and during his brief stay of one year 
was considered in a sense the director of 
the settlement of New Netherland, as was 
his successor, William Verhulst. It was 
not, however, until the arrival of Minuet 
that civil government actually began. He 
bought the island of Manhattan and so 
took permanent possession on May 6, 
1626. Small as seems the sum paid for it, 
equivalent to twenty-four dollars, it met 
the full approval of the Indians and was 
accepted on both sides as satisfactory. 

In fact one historian suggests that this 
small sum allowed to accumulate at in- 
terest to the present time would realize an 
amount that might be equal to the value 

14 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

of Manhattan Island, apart from modern 
improvements. 

Minuet brought with him for his colony 
seeds, plants, animals, and instruments of 
husbandry. " He always dealt honorably 
with the Indians, opened up correspond- 
ence with Governor Bradford of Plymouth, 
and proposed commercial reciprocity." 
He also sent Bradford a present of sugar 
and of Dutch cheese. 

With the arrival of the first director, 
religious services were begun in New 
Amsterdam. They were conducted by 
the ' Comforters of the sick," Sebas- 
tian Jansen Krol and Jan Huyck, until the 
arrival in 1628 of Reverend Jonas Mich- 
aelius. He at once organized a church. 
Many of the first settlers had brought with 
them their certificates of church member- 
ship, others were received upon confession 
of faith. The director, Peter Minuet, was 
one of the elders, the other officers being 
the two comforters of the sick. Fifty 
communicants took part in the first cele- 

15 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

bration of the Lord's Supper. Many of 
them being Walloons, an address was 
made to them in French. A letter from 
Mr. Michaelius alludes to the difficulty 
of acquiring the language of the Indians 
as an impediment to missionary work 
among them, and suggests the instruction 
of their children as the best means for 
bringing Christian influences to bear upon 
them. 

The first church services were held in a 
loft of a horse mill, on what is now South 
William Street, near Pearl. Rough seats 
were supplied, and a tower at one end held 
bells brought from Porto Rico. 

The second building, the first built ex- 
clusively for church services, was on what 
is now 100 Broad Street. Adjacent to the 
church was the parsonage of the well-be- 
loved Dominie Evardus Bogardus, who 
married Anneke Jans. 

The first tavern built for the purpose 
was said to have been at the corner of Co- 
enties Slip and Pearl Street, in 1642, 

16 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

private hospitality having before this 
answered all purposes. Governor Keift 
expressed to Captain DeVries, who was 
dining with him, his satisfaction with the 
architecture. DeVries replied that what 
was still more needed was a substantial 
church edifice, drawing a contrast be- 
tween New Amsterdam and New Eng- 
land, by saying that in the latter colony 
• the first thing done by the settlers, after 
building their own homes, was to erect a 
fine church, while the one in New 
Amsterdam looked like a barn. 

The wedding of the daughter or the 
step-daughter of Dominie Bogardus oc- 
curring shortly after this, it was used as 
the occasion for raising the funds for the 
new church, the governor subscribing a 
large sum on behalf of the company. 
DeVries gave generously, and the sub- 
scriptions being pledged when all were in 
the best of spirits, some in a calmer mo- 
ment would have withdrawn their pledges, 
but were held to them. 

17 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

So, in 1642, came the church in the fort 
so familiar to us all. But we may not all 
realize that it served for the use of several 
congregations, the Dutch, the Church of 
England, and the Roman Catholic. 

Great objection was made to placing it 
in the fort, lest this building should inter- 
fere with the use of the windmill by ob- 
structing the sweep of the northeast wind. 
But the will of the governor prevailed. 

In 1643 pReverend Johannis Megapo- 
lensis arrived as minister at Rensselaerwyk. 
He came at the request of the Patroon Van 
Rensselaer, who agreed to pay the expense 
of transporting " the Dominie " and his 
family from Holland and to guarantee his 
salary for several years. A number of 
emigrants came with the minister and the 
following year a church was built. Mr. 
Megapolensis proved admirably fitted 
both for pastoral and mission work. 
Soon after his arrival he was instrumental 
in saving the life of Father Jogues, a Jesuit 
missionary in danger of torture and death 

18 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

at the hands of Mohawk Indians. Do- 
minie Megapolensis concealed him for 
weeks, " was his constant friend, and 
saw him safely embarked for New 
Amsterdam whence he proceeded to 

Europe." 
Similar kindness was shown by the Dutch 

to Fathers Bressani (1614) and Poncet 

(1653). 

In 1685 a separate church was built for 
the Huguenot colonists, largely increased 
in numbers by the revocation of the edict 
of Nantes. The first pastor was Reverend 
PierreDaill^,whobesidesofficiatinginNew 
York, where the scattered Huguenots came 
from a score of miles away to attend the ser- 
vices, also visited New Paltz twice a year. 
In 16S7, Pastor Pierrot became his col- 
league. In 1688 a church was built 
in Marketfield Street. 

The Dutch settlers were equally faith- 
ful, the story having come down through 
generations, of their leaving their distant 
homes in time to reach New York at mid- 
19 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

night on Saturday, and starting home- 
ward at midnight on Sunday. 

In 1092 the Dutch built a church at 
what we now see as 41-51 P^xchange Place. 
It was then called Garden Street, — we 
can imagine why. The silver-toned bell 
from the church in the fort was transferred 
there and the congregation sent silver 
coins and ornaments to Amsterdam to be 
beaten into its baptismal bowl, which is 
now in the possession of the South Dutch 
Church on Madison Avenue. 

About this time, according to Chaplain 
Miller, " the managers of the affairs of 
the Church of England applied for per- 
mission to collect funds to build a church." 
This being granted, the amount was raised 
through solicitations extending among 
the Dutch, French, and Jews, a number 
of Jewish families being now among the 
residents. 

The vestry having heard of the char- 
acter and abilities of Mr. William Vesey, 
then in Boston, of his being a frequent 

20 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

communicant there, etc., called him, on 
November 8, 1000, to be their rector, with 
the pledge on his part that he would go to 
London for ordination. The congrega- 
tion subscribed ninety pounds for his 
travelling expenses. He was ordained 
by the Bishop of London, on August 2, 
1097. 

On Christmas day following la* was in- 
ducted intooffice in the Dutch Church in 
Garden Street, the pastor, Reverend Mr. 
Selyns, and Reverend Mr. Nucella,of the 
church of Kingston, taking part in the 
services. One of the vestrymen was John 
Crooke, the ancestor of many residents of 
New York, Kingston, Utica, Denver, etc. 

Subsequently Mr. Vesey officiated in 
the Dutch Church alternately with the 
Dutch clergyman, until March 13, 1698, 
when the building of Trinity Church 
was completed. 'This courtesy was re- 
turned during the Revolutionary War," 
says the Manual of the Reformed Church. 

The Middle Dutch Church was then 

21 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

desecrated by British soldiers and the 
vestry of Trinity Church passed the fol- 
lowing resolution in 1779 : 

" It being represented that the old 
Dutch Church is now being used as a 
hospital for his Majesty's troops, the 
corporation impressed with a grateful re- 
membrance of the former kindness of that 
ancient church, do offer the use of St. 
George's to the congregation for cele- 
brating divine worship." 

While Presbyterians and Congrega- 
tionalists were, at an early date, quite 
numerous on Long Island, it was not 
until 1717 that a Presbyterian Church 
was organized in New York City. 

A Jewish synagogue was also built there 
at an early date. 

Jean Vigne was the first child born in 
New Netherland, in 1614. 

The first girl baby was Sarah Rapalye, 
born at Fort Orange in 1625. The 
Rapalyes moved to Long Island, where 
one family of their descendants, strong 

22 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

loyalists, lived when the struggle for free- 
dom began. They moved to England, 
carrying with them, it is said, the town 
records of Brooklyn. 

Among the Dutch the school always 
ranked next to the church in importance 
and a free school system was early insti- 
tuted, which continued until the Dutch 
government gave place to the English. 
The connection between the school and 
the church was very close, the teachers 
being communicants of the Dutch Church, 
many of them teaching the catechism in 
the school and leading the singing in the 
church services. 

The first school formed the foundation 
of the present Collegiate School of the 
Dutch Church in New York City. 

The first schoolmaster was Adam Roel- 
andsen, who came over in 1633. For some 
reason, presumably distrust of his char- 
acter, he could not make a living by his 
profession, so in addition took in washing. 

" He lived at first," says Mrs. Lamb, 

23 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

" quite out of town." But there is on 
record an agreement for building a house 
for the schoolmaster on Stone Street, so 
called because the first street paved. 
The pavement was laid, it is said, at the 
urgent request of the wife of Herr Van 
Cortland as a protection against the dust, 
and was a tribute alike to true Dutch 
housewifery and to feminine influence. 

The agreement prescribed that the 
house should be thirty-eight feet long, 
eight feet high, tightly clapboarded, roofed 
withfreeden thatch, have an entry three 
feet wide, two doors, a pantry, bedstead, 
staircase, and mantelpiece. 

It may seem odd to have the bedstead 
thus included in the building, but it was 
customary in Holland dwellings to have a 
" slaapbanck," or sleeping bench, con- 
structed like a cupboard with doors that 
could be closed. Like the present folding 
beds, it was invisible during the day. These 
bedsteads are still to be found in some of 
the quaint Dutch houses in Ulster County. 

24 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

The first Latin school was started by a 
Jesuit father under the administration of 
Governor Dongan, the bell of the Dutch 
Church calling the pupils together. Egi- 
dius Luyck conducted a Latin school in 
1642. This was followed by others, a de- 
mand for a liberal education being soon 
felt. 

The first physician was a Huguenot, 
De La Montagne, who remained only for 
a year. Hans Kiersted, who married the 
daughter of Anneke Jans, was his suc- 
cessor. His wife was a woman of rare 
character and ability, who frequently 
rendered great service as interpreter from 
her familiarity with the Indian language. 

The first ferry ran from Peck Slip. 
The first regular ferryman was Cornelius 
Dircksen, who in 1642 had an inn and 
farm near Peck Slip. The travel of pas- 
sengers and carrying of freight rapidly 
increased and colonial manuscripts give 
the following record : 

" In consequence of the daily confusion 

25 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

occurring among the ferrymen on Man- 
hattan Island so that the inhabitants are 
waiting whole days before they can obtain 
a passage and then not without danger 
and at an exorbitant price," the Di- 
rector and Council found it necessary to 
enact an ordinance regulating the use of 
the ferry. Later an attempt was made 
to start another ferry, but the objection 
arose that the rental from the ferry was 
the main source of income left to support 
the public buildings, bridges, jails, land- 
ing places, fire, and candle for their night 
watches, salaries of their offices, bill men, 
etc. In the regulations for the first ferry 
was this: that the hours should be from 
" 5 A.M. to 8 P.M., in summer," "pro- 
vided that the windmill on the Battery on 
Manhattan hath not taken in its sail." 

The tavern at the ferry (on the Brook- 
lyn side) became quite a fashionable 
resort. 

The first mail route between New York 
and Boston was established in 1672. The 

26 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

route was ' blazed ' through the Con- 
necticut forests. The mails left once a 
month. 

In 1670 the New York Exchange began, 
the merchants meeting on Friday morn- 
ings at a bridge, where now is Exchange 
Place. 

Among the first proclamations of Gov- 
ernor Stuyvesant was one for protecting 
the sanctity of the Sabbath. Similar laws 
were scrupulously observed after the 
English possession of the colony. The 
inhabitants being in full sympathy with 
these regulations, attendance upon church 
services was general, and the day was 
marked by ' entire cessation of worldly 
labor." 

Stuyvesant made strict laws against 
drunkenness and profanity, also regu- 
lating the sale of liquor and forbidding 
such sale to the Indians. 

The significance of the names of a few 
of the streets must have a passing mention. 
Wall Street owes its name to a palisade 

27 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

erected, according to one historian, when 
an invasion from New England was anti- 
cipated, according to others to guard the 
cows from straying too far. 

At the foot of Pearl Street was found 
a quantity of oyster shells from which 
the Indians had made their wampum. 
Hence the name of the street. 

Maiden Lane tells its own story as a 
favorite resort of the young girls. 

Broad Street had a narrow canal 
through its center flanked by a broad 
thoroughfare on each side, along which 
were built the finest residences. 

The seal of the city of New York, 
granted in 1686, illustrates the story of its 
early life. It shows a sailor and an 
Indian helping each other support a 
shield that bears across its face the arms 
of a windmill, two barrels of flour, and 
two beavers. The windmill and the 
barrels recall the important grant made to 
New York in 1678, giving it the exclusive 
right to bolt flour and pack it for export. 

28 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

This added immensely to the trade and 
prosperity of the town, while the beavers 
indicate its first commerce. The eagle 
with outstretched wings standing on the 
upper part of a hemisphere replaces the 
crown originally there. The seal gives 
in brief the tale just told, the friendship 
and help of our Indian brethren, the wide 
and widening sweep of commerce origi- 
nally due largely to the fact that here 
were found friends, not foes. 

As certainly as the seal records faith- 
fully these incidents in the early history 
of New York so certainly the city and the 
state bear their impress. The fervent 
faith of the first settlers, their business 
enterprise, the freedom alike from secta- 
rian or sectional prejudice, readiness to 
give cordial welcome and hospitality or 
help to all who come to us, — these are 
among the characteristics of the true New 
Yorker. Many things have gone wrong 
since the days just recalled. There has 
been — there is now — much in our his- 

29 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

tory to cause regret; but nothing can ob- 
literate the nobility of this early record, 
and it calls to every resident of this state 
to be, and to help others to be, worthy 
of the " Beginnings of New York." 

NEW YORK 

When first the Half Moon cleft the bay a widening 
life began. 

As Briton stood with Hollander our wooded shores 
to scan, 

As Indians' helpful kindness showed the brother- 
hood of man 

A keynote sounded — through the years a strain of 
music ran. 

Niagara peals in unison with glad, tumultuous roar, 
While rushing streams and cataracts repeat it o'er 

and o'er, 
Until the ocean breaks in song upon Long Island's 

shore. 

Where mountains lift their rock-bound peaks, each 
fragrant, pine-clad crest, 

Each rugged glen, each placid lake invites to heal- 
ing rest. 

30 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

The forests glow with gorgeous tints when autumn 
is the guest. 

Again upon the Hudson's breast we see the Half 

Moon glide, 
Where peace and plenty smile and life is full, 

serene, and wide. 
Three centuries meet and send the strain adownthe 

swelling tide. 

Here Hollander and Huguenot sang hymns of 

ardent faith 
And heroism that had braved both suffering and 

death. 
" Be this our land of Liberty! " they shouted with 

one breath. 

They welcomed later comers here with ready, out- 
stretched hands, 

As still their children greet to-day the men from 
other lands, 

Their interests uniting with indissoluble bands. 

Whene'er as generations passed she heard the 

nation's call, 
New York rushed forward in the van. Whatever 

may befall 

31 



THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW YORK 

She meets the crisis — men and means and 
strength — she gives them all. 

In rare and generous comradeship she looks the 

world around, 
Wherever suffering and want in human kind is 

found 
Her tender mercies outward flow, her ministries 

abound. 

" For God and country! ,: Thus she stands with 

heart and soul elate, 
Still strong to do and strong to dare and strong to 

stand and wait, 
A bulwark of the nation's life, a friend to every 

state. 

Through much of discord, tumult, jar, through 
many a minor strain 

That first grand chord of brotherhood still domi- 
nant is plain. 

God grant that through all time to come unbroken 
it remain! 



32 



OLD KINGSTON 
THE FIRST STATE CAPITAL 



Old Kingston, The 
First State Capital 

WHEN the Half Moon on its mem- 
orable voyage of discovery passed 
up what was later called Hudson's river, 
it came, we are told by its chronicler, " in 
view of other mountains which lay from 
the river's side." There were found 
" very loving people and very old men," 
by whom the newcomers were cordially 
welcomed and supplied with Indian corn, 
pumpkins, and tobacco. The description 
of the locality might apply either to 
Kingston or Catskill. But as the Cats- 
kills are first sighted at the mouth of the 
Rondout, and as it was there that in 1610 
a trading post was established, it seems 
probable that this was the place where 
the Half Moon came to anchor, as stated, 
and thus brought what is now Kingston 
to the notice of both Dutch and English 

35 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

as a location especially fitted for trade 
with friendly Indians. 

In 1652 a permanent settlement was 
made. A large proportion of the early 
settlers were Hollanders who stamped 
indelibly upon the colony the impress of 
the Dutch. They, as was their custom, 
bought their lands from the Indians, and 
lived upon their scattered farms for four 
years without any serious difficulty with 
the earlier owners of the soil. Thomas 
Chambers, the first English settler, had 
received a large grant of rich land in the 
valley of the Esopus, still exceptionally 
fertile. 

The whole region was then known as 
" The Esopus," a name that clung to the 
village of Kingston for nearly two cen- 
turies. It was named Kingston when the 
colony came under the control of the 
British government. 

It seems clear from official papers as 
well as from stories and traditions handed 
down through generations that there 

36 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

might never have been any serious diffi- 
culties there between the whites and the 
redmen had the former left their " fire- 
water " on the other side of the Atlantic. 
An incident that occurred in 1658 em- 
phasizes this. A party of settlers were 
playing tennis at the " tennis court " in 
" Esopus," some Indians looking on with 
interest. An " anchor ' of brandy was 
discovered conveniently placed at the foot 
of a tree. The Indians enjoyed it, as did 
the others, but with a different result. 
They became wildly intoxicated, fired 
upon a yacht, and killed a man. The 
settlers, excessively alarmed, besought the 
aid and protection of Governor Stuyve- 
sant. In their application to the gov- 
ernor they stated, to show the importance 
of the place, that they had ' sixty or 
seventy people who support a reader at 
their own expense." The reader thus 
alluded to was the vorrleser or lay- 
reader, and " comforter of the sick," who 
at or before this period had conducted 

37 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

church services. Strange to say, he was an 
ancestor of the present pastor, and bore the 
same family name, Van Slyke, or Vander 
Sluys. 

The governor, with an escort of sixty 
or more arrived at Esopus in May. " The 
next day being Ascension Day, he notified 
the people to meet him after service in the 
afternoon." On the following day he 
held a council with about fifty braves. 
One of the chiefs arose and with dignity 
responded to the charges brought against 
the Indians, their insolence, cruelty, 
murders, etc. " The Shawanakins," i.e. 
Europeans, " sold our children drink, 
and they were thus the cause of the In- 
dians being made crazy, which was the 
cause of all the mischief." Indeed, a 
pathetic appeal was eventually sent to 
the governor, urging him to compel the 
traders at Fort Orange to stop selling 
liquor to the young braves, with a 
solemn warning of the results inevi- 
table should this request be disregarded, 

38 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

results from which the nation suffers 
to-day. 

At this conference, however, peace was 
concluded. The governor advised the 
settlers to move from their outlying farms 
and form into a village protected by a 
stockade, and to purchase from the 
Indians a site for such village. The In- 
dians asked the privilege of giving the land 
as a token of amity. This offer was ac- 
cepted, and the governor named the 
village in recognition of the gift and the 
givers " Wiltwyck " or " Wild Man's 
Town." The lines of the stockade are still 
shown, marked at one point by a house 
that stood at the hornwork at an angle of 
the fortification. This house built by 
Martinus Hoffman was for many gen- 
erations the home of the family, from 
which was descended the late Dean Hoff- 
man. 

Distrust, once begun, continued, 
— fomented as we all know by many 
provocations on the part of the 

39 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

whites, until in 1663 both Wiltwyck and 
Hurley, a village three miles distant, 
then known as the " Nieu Dorp," were 
burned by the savages. 

Another council, held at or near what is 
now the Academy green, resulted in the 
burial of the hatchet, and the gift from the 
Indians of a wampum belt still preserved 
in the County Clerk's office. 

This brought permanent peace, just as 
the first struggle for supremacy had begun 
between the Dutch and English. 

It is interesting to note the similarities 
and differences between two settlements 
of Hollanders at about the same date, 
1652, one at Kingston, the other in 
South Africa. Both received reinforce- 
ments of Huguenots who added a certain 
sparkle and grace to the sturdy make-up 
of the Dutch. Both colonies were de- 
voted to the creed and mode of worship 
of the Reformed Dutch Church, to the 
language and customs of Holland, and to 
the ideas of civil and religious liberty for 

40 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

which their forefathers had fought with 
unexampled tenacity, suffering, and 
heroism. 

On the other hand, great differences of 
climate, of environment, of opportunity, 
the extreme remoteness of the one colony, 
the isolation of its families, are all most 
marked. But the spirit was the same, and 
it flashed into flame in old Kingston at 
the time of the Revolution as later in the 
Transvaal. 

Intermarriages modified noticeably the 
temperament of the people of Kingston. 
While Hollanders and Huguenots were the 
prevailing nationalities represented there, 
settlers from other countries came from 
time to time, as the place grew in impor- 
tance. For instance, the first Bruyn 
came, as is stated in the Hasbrouck 
family record, from Norway. He mar- 
ried Gertruyd Esselsteyn, a Plollander. 
His granddaughter married Abraham 
Hasbrouck, of French Huguenot ancestry. 
In the next generation, a Hasbrouck mar- 

41 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

ried a Wynkoop, of mingled Dutch and 
German- Moravian descent. 

Petrus Edmundus Elmendorf, whose 
name tells its nationality, married Mary 
Crooke. The Crookes had brought with 
them from England their ancestral silver, 
engraved with the family coat of arms, 
and their love for the Church of England. 
The grandfather of the " Mollie " Crooke 
just alluded to was one of the founders of 
Trinity Church in New York City. He 
too had married a Hollander, Gertrude 
de Haas, and his son John, who settled in 
Esopus, and was one of the first lawyers 
there, also county clerk, married Ka- 
trina Jans. All these varied strains of 
blood, Norwegian, Dutch, French, Eng- 
lish, and German, with later admixtures, 
are blended to-day in the veins of one 
family in old Kingston. 

The Dutch Church, true to its history 
and traditions, united all these varied ele- 
ments into a harmonious whole. It also 
received as a communicant the first 

42 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

Roman Catholic resident of Kingston, and 
a Baptist whose scruples were set at rest 
by his being immersed in the Esopus creek 
by the " Dominie " of the old church. It 
became the center of life for the settlement. 
Its close affiliations with Holland are 
shown by the fact that not only was its 
quaint silver communion beaker sent, in 
1683, "as a token of love and friendship" 
from the church at Amsterdam to the 
church at Kingston, but the bell, too, came 
from Amsterdam, and all the early min- 
isters were sent out from the mother 
country. The use of the Dutch lan- 
guage in the church services continued 
until 1808. As a result, one of the young 
members of the congregation whose 
family did not speak the Holland tongue 
asked who was that noted woman whose 
name she so often heard mentioned in the 
sermons, " Hetty Van Halium." The 
explanation was, that the words she had 
thus understood were " Het evangelium, ,, 
" the gospel.' ' 

43 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

The Dutch language continued to be in 
use in many families until the middle 
of the last century. Even now it is 
familiar to some of the generation fast 
passing away. 

The beautiful old stone church burned 
by the British in 1777 had the baptistry in 
front of the main edifice. The ancient bap- 
tismal record gives the name of Jan Roose- 
velt, an ancestor of Ex-President Roosevelt. 

Perhaps it was due to the strong in- 
fluence of the old church — the only one 
in Kingston for about a century and a 
half — that the people of the town main- 
tained friendly personal relations, even 
while of very different social standing. 
The owner of the first carriage in Kingston 
sent it all about the village on Sunday 
mornings to bring to church the aged and 
infirm, the result being, sometimes, that 
she herself would arrive after the ap- 
pointed hour. But this was of little con- 
sequence, as the Dominie awaited her 
arrival to begin the service ! 

44 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

Another dignified dame who often re- 
peated to her grandchildren the war-cry 
of her French ancestral house, — the cry 
that had rung out among the ranks of the 
crusaders, — would sit patiently entertain- 
ing in her handsome parlor some plain, un- 
pretending guest, perhaps an old col- 
ored woman formerly a slave in the 
family, showing to each one unfailing 
courtesy and kindness. 

The old village was linked in many ways 
to the life of the outside world, especially 
in the case of those who had the advantages 
of culture, books, and social position. 

There are in private libraries valuable 
books in English, Dutch, French, and 
Latin that have come down from genera- 
tion to generation. 

The old secretaries contain interesting 
letters written to Esopus by friends and 
kindred at Albany, New York, the head- 
quarters of General Washington, and 
from beyond seas. As the inns were 
not thought worthy to provide for the 

45 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

comfort of distinguished guests, they were 
usually entertained at the homes of the 
leading families. Among letters written 
by such guests to Mrs. Mary Crooke 
Elmendorf are some from Hector St. 
John de Crevecoeur, French Consul Gen- 
eral, and from Governor Sir Henry More. 

One of the daughters of this Mrs. 
Elmendorf married Rutger Bleeker, of 
Albany, another Cornelius Ray, of New 
York, and a third Lieutenant Colonel 
Bruyn, of Kingston, to whom she had been 
betrothed all through his heroic career in 
the Continental Army, which closed by 
his capture at Fort Montgomery and his 
imprisonment on the horrible Jersey, the 
prison ship. 

Letters from these sisters are exceed- 
ingly interesting, with their vivid pictures 
of colonial life and of the stirring times of 
the Revolution. 

Besides intercourse of this kind with 
the larger places, prominent men of 
Kingston took part in public affairs, 

46 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

coming and going as members of the 
Colonial assemblies or later of the Pro- 
vincial Congress, or as officers in the 
Colonial service and the Continental 
Army. Colonel Abraham Hasbrouck, 
besides being colonel of a regiment, was 
for thirty years member of the Colonial 
Assembly, subsequently of the State 
Assembly. 

Generals George and James Clinton 
both lived in Kingston. There too lived 
Christopher Tappen, the well-known 
patriot and statesman, whose family, 
when the town was fired by British troops, 
sacrificed their own valuable papers to 
save those of the state. 

Near by, at Hurley, were the homes of 
Col. Cornelius D. Wynkoop and Col. 
Charles DeWitt, whose services both in 
the army and as legislator showed him 
worthy of the ancestor who had suffered 
martyrdom at the Hague. 

Gilbert Livingston, a son of the original 
patroon, was a resident of Kingston. He 

47 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

was the first person in the state to manu- 
mit his slaves. His name is found on one 
of the gravestones in the old churchyard. 

DeWall, a Hollander, had a large house 
used for assemblies, which brought to- 
gether for social intercourse the gentry 
from many quarters. Full dress was a 
requisite for these state occasions. This 
house, like many others of the same 
period, is still standing, rebuilt on the 
ruins left when the town was burned by 
the British in 1777. 

The old house built in 1676 by Wessel 
Tenbroeck, where the first state senate 
met, is now a museum owned by the state. 

Another interesting building is the old 
academy, founded 1774, one of the first 
to promote the higher education. Many 
of the scholars came from other parts of 
the state — and it sent out to the world 
a large number of prominent men — Ed- 
ward Livingston, Stephen Van Rensselaer, 
Abraham Van Vechten, DeWitt Clinton, 
Rev. Thomas DeWitt, D.D., long a re- 

48 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

vered minister of the Collegiate Church 
of New York City, who was born near 
Kingston, Vanderlyn,the noted artist, and 
many others distinguished in various ways. 
['" One cannot walk through the streets of 
Kingston without feeling the force of its 
past. The families that have lived there, 
as many have done, since the founding of 
what has been called " a town of homes," 
.show a certain simplicity of character and 
of life that has come down from other 
generations and makes them distinctive. 
They are old-fashioned people and do not 
hesitate to avow it. They belong among 
the quaint buildings, the antique furni- 
ture, the crumbling gravestones, the many 
memorials of Colonial days. Great as 
have been the changes that have trans- 
formed the quiet village into a rapidly 
growing city, with modern villas and lines 
of electric railroad, there is enough of the 
old spirit remaining to cause the inhabi- 
tants to take pride in calling their town 
" The Colonial City." 

49 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

When the struggle for independence 
began it was inevitable that Kingston 
should be — as it was designated by 
General Vaughan — "a nest of rebels." 
An article in the Philadelphia Evening 
Post during the Boer war drew a sharp 
contrast between the patriotism of the 
American colonists at that epoch, and that 
of the Transvaal in their fight for freedom 
— showing that while we gave only a mod- 
erate percentage of our men for the actual 
conflict the Boers gave all. The state- 
ment is probably true of the colonies as 
a whole, since so many who still claimed 
England as the mother country felt it im- 
possible to forego allegiance to her. But 
it was far otherwise at Kingston and its 
vicinity. There, the descendants of those 
who had pierced the dykes at Leyden, and 
left their homes in France to escape the 
dragonnade and the galley, sprang as one 
man to support the patriot cause. It is a 
remarkable thing to read the lists of those 
who signed the articles of association 

50 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

pledging themselves to stand by the action 
of the Continental Congress. They are 
called, as they well may be, the " Ulster 
County Roll of Honor." Four signed it 
as members of the Provincial Congress; 
these were James Clinton, Christopher 
Tappen, Jacob Hornbeck, and Egbert 
DuMond. 

The large number of signatures from 
Kingston and adjacent towns justify the 
statements handed down from earlier 
generations that every able-bodied man 
was in the patriot army. 

One house alone, on the outskirts of the 
town, is known as the residence of a tory, 
— and he was a New Yorker. 

Kingston then — New York being in 
the possession of the British — was the 
natural place for the promotion of all that 
tended to foster the first impulse towards 
independence. There great statesmen 
gathered, framed the State Constitution, 
convened in the first Assembly and Senate 
of the new state. Thither sped General 

51 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

Clinton to take the oath of office as the 
first governor, hastening back immedi- 
ately to his command. 

So it came about, as a sudden and 
brutal retaliation, that the brave old town 
was fired by British troops on October 
16, 1777. Only one house within the 
limits of the village was left habitable and 
its defenceless women and children fled 
for refuge to Hurley and the surrounding 
region .3 

The struggle might well have seemed 
then hopeless, humanly speaking. But 
the faith that formed a vital part of the in- 
heritance of these people carried the day, 
and the feeling of all was 

Not a man will blench nor falter, 
Not a woman's heart will fail, 

Since our God is fighting with us, 
Never can your arms prevail! 

It is our privilege to cherish and main- 
tain the noblest principles of the early 
colonists. To do this effectually we must 

52 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

also cherish the sublime faith upon which 
these principles were based. What is the 
real reason why we as a nation lead the 
world to-day ? Is it solely because of our 
vast material resources, or the peculiar fit- 
ness of our form of government to draw 
hither and amalgamate into one the enter- 
prising, the restless, the dissatisfied of 
other lands ? 

Is it not rather, or chiefly, because we 
' are the custodians of the ideals of the race ? 
While much may perish in the sweep of 
events, these remain and will ever remain 
because inspired from above. And it is 
these ideals that those who are Americans 
by inheritance are to uphold and pass on 
as an incentive to high endeavor to the 
men and women of to-day. Listening to 
the solemn voice of a great past, — the 
story of our forefathers, we are " to do the 
work that they laid down. Take up 
the song where they broke off the 
strain ' and send it ringing as a 
trumpet call through the new century. 

53 



A Ballad of Old 
Kingston 

I sing of arms — of gallant deeds, of one heroic 

town 
Where patriots, for Freedom's sake, defied the 

British Crown. 

Fair Atkarhactor, when of old the Indians alone 
Its lovely plains, its circling hills, and mountain 
slopes had known. 

Esopus, Wiltwyck, Swannenburg, then Kingston it 
became 

When England ruled the Colony; — and bears to- 
day this name. 

There Hollander and Huguenot their " sacred fire " 

had brought 
That burst in flame when tyranny to quench it 

vainly sought. 

54 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

" The County Roll of Honor " still in hearts and 

homes survives, 
Its signers to the Congress pledged their honor, 

fortunes, lives. 

When gathered in the quaint old church all hearts 

were kindled there 
The patriot's duty formed a part of sermon, psalm, 

and prayer. 

" To arms! To arms! " The cry rang out along 

the peaceful street. 
From every farm and hamlet came the sound of 
hurrying feet. 

Before the high-peaked houses stood, on each 

capacious stoop — 
Where erst the burghers calmly smoked — an 

eager, anxious group. 

Too deeply moved for vehemence, too confident 

for fear, 
Whene'er a new recruit appeared they gave a 

stirring cheer. 

Hooghtaling's troop of horse dashed by. The in- 
fantry at drill 

55 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

Their flintlocks handled with a grasp that showed 
determined will. 

Young Bruyn, of Norseman lineage, brave- 
eyed and steadfast faced, 

Recruited and equipped his men with eager, gen- 
erous haste. 

Not even love his heart could turn from duty's 

path aside — 
Though sore his anguish when he left his lovely, 

promised bride. 

Then, like a mountain torrent that to seek the sea 

leaps forth 
Impetuous, the little band sped onward towards 

the north. 

Exultant, thrilled with eager hope, their ardor 

naught could check 
Until the human surges beat the ramparts of 

Quebec. 

E'en there they met like veterans the storm of shot 

and shell. 
Our youthful captain was beside Montgomery 

when he fell. 

56 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

Before, triumphant was their march; there, stern 
disaster came. 

Disaster that has twined their brows with death- 
less wreaths of fame. 

The long, long winter through they bore privations 

in the field. 
At home, all prayed and suffered; still, not one, 

not one would yield ! 

One day, within the village street afar was heard a 

drum. 
The sound came nearer, — then the shout, " The 

regiment has come! " 

All war-worn, many wounded sore, so many miss- 
ing! Then, 

Before they broke the ranks they cried, " We're 
going back again ! 

" Enlist! " Exhaustion claimed them not until 

this work was done — 
Old Kingston gave to liberty each able-bodied 

son! 

And so the youthful lovers met; but only met to 
part. 

51 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

"Go, dearest!" sobbed our heroine, "you 
take with you my heart." 

" God bids us make this sacrifice, 'tis on his altar 

laid. 
"I glory in your leaving me! I dare not be 

afraid!" 

When soon the dauntless volunteers with valiant 

hearts went back. 
They seemed along the country road to leave a 

shining track. 

(A century later, it was there ten thousand heroes 

trod, 
The " Boys in Blue" 'neath Stars and Stripes for 

country and for God.) 

The last faint echoing steps gave place to calm 

that seemed like death. 
Within the village, people spoke as if with bated 

breath. 

But soon the trusty Indian scouts brought tidings 

from afar; 
And closer drew the embattled lines that marked 

the seat of war. 

58 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

The ancient courthouse scarce could hold the 

prisoners of state 
Marched in, from time to time, who cursed the 

rebels, God, or fate. 

Those Ulster troops fresh laurels won; on one 

autumnal day 
At Fort Montgomery helped to hold o'erwhelming 

hosts at bay. 

Not Balaklava's heroes faced more fearful odds 

than when 
The assault of thousands thus was braved by 

scarce two hundred men ! 

When overborne, they spiked their gun and made 
a brave retreat. 

Contesting every step, they moved with slow, un- 
willing feet. 

The first who marched to meet the foe were last 

the fort to hold. 
While many a gallant soldier fled, a remnant, few 

but bold 

Stood 'midst the dead, — as Colonel Bruyn, with 
sword uplifted high, 

59 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

Cried, " Strike for old Esopus, boys! Her sons 
know how to die ! " 

When captured thus stern foemen said, " We 

gladly yield to you 
The highest honors war can give to valor tried and 

true." 

Scant comfort, when to living death upon the 

Jersey sent, 
Not knowing they had swelled the ranks that shook 

a continent! 

The horrors of that prison ship still make the blood 

run cold, 
Disease and famine, foulest filth, brutality untold. 

Meanwhile, in Kingston oft there met, by danger 

undismayed, 
The leaders of " seditious " thought, who gravest 

problems weighed. 

Van Courtland, Morris, Livingston, Duane, De- 

Witt, and Jay — 
Who dared a traitor's doom to face, with others 

brave as they, 

60 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

Took strong, decisive action there, — a Constitu- 
tion framed. 

A state new born 'midst fearful throes was 
daringly proclaimed. 

When Clinton, Ulster's favorite son, admired, be- 
loved, revered, 

Who sought no honors he had won, whom all 
opponents feared, — 

When he by urgent voice was called the state's first 

steps to guide, 
Not his to linger nor delay ! Men tell to-day with 

pride. 

How Clinton hastened from the camp to take' the 

oath, then fled 
From all that might have held him back, — again 

to conflict sped. 

The first assembly, senate, court brought 

statesmen of renown, 
Convened to work the common weal, within the 

patriot town 

The early records of the state were sent for safety 
there. 

61 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

The Tappens bore them off in haste, amidst the 
trumpet's blare, 

When Vaughan the " nest of rebels " fired, and left 

a mark of shame 
Forever, long as history lasts, to rest upon his 

name. 

Defenceless was the village when one mid-October 

day, 
Long shadows flecked by sunshine bright upon the 

greensward lay. 

A^sorrowing group were gathered round a scout. 

this tale he told, — 
The fall of Fort Montgomery, the fate of heroes 

bold. 

The women wept. The aged men cried, " Would 

I had been there! " 
Their incoherent words and sobs rose piteous on 

the air. 

When suddenly a maiden fair with hurried step 

drew near, 
They touched each other. " Hush," they said, 

" for his betrothed is here. ,, 

62 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

She turned in silence when the tale at last — at 

last — was heard, 
And sought her widowed mother's home. The 

warbling of a bird, 

The brilliant foliage, the blue that calmly arched 

above, — 
All seemed to mock the stricken heart that throbbed 

with pain and love. 

Her bright-eyed lover! strong to do, — could he be 

strong to bear? 
Will not the prisoned eagle pine deprived of 

upper air? 

No human help could reach the first extremity of 

pain. 
She prayed, " Sustain him, Saviour — God! Oset 

him free again !' ' 

While still she knelt, a sudden shout caught e'en 

her listless ear, 
" Lope younge, Lope!* bei Hurley out\ "* " The 

British troops are here! " 

*" Run, children, run, flee to Hurley." 

63 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

She had not heard the galloping, the breathless cry 

without, 
" Three thousand troops have landed ! They have 

taken the redoubt! " 

Each beardless boy his musket grasped the invader 

to oppose. 
The handful of militia fought like tigers 'gainst 

the foes. 

But on, and on, the British came, hearts |hot 

with frenzied hate, 
To punish the devoted town, the birthplace of the 

state ! 

They filled the wagons hurriedly with aged and 

with young ; 
A few some treasures buried, while — still in the 

Holland tongue — 

" Lope young el Lope! Bei Hurley out! " The 

summons passed along. 
Till, facing westward, swiftly fled a terror-stricken 

throng. 

The last who turned a backward glance saw 
through the sunny air 

64 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

The gleam of British bayonets, — a sudden, awful 
glare. 

The assailants marched with torch in hand. Black 

smoke in volumes rose 
From homes, for generations dear, the prey 

of ruthless foes. 

In one rude cellar — still the house, rebuilt, stands 

firm to-day — 
In sorest pangs of motherhood a youthful matron 

lay. 

Above her, burning beams crashed down, while 

sounds of trampling feet 
Were mingled with tumultuous shouts, the uproar 

of the street. 

That day was kindled such a flame as nothing 

could assuage! 
Upon the town a martyr's crown doth rest from 

age to age. 

This, this the climax — winter snows already 

chilled the air — 
Yet, 'neath accumulated woes none yielded to 

despair. 

65 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

The homes in Hurley opened wide, and all the 

country round 
Received the homeless fugitives with sympathy 

profound. 

E'en welcome, succor, human aid were secondary 

things. 
The patriot hearts were calmly stayed beneath 

Almighty wings! 

'Tis said, that when October brings its glowing, 

gladdening days, 
When town and hillside seem aflame, bright 

hued, 'midst tender haze, 

Those watching ere the sad sixteenth, expectant, 
through the night 

Within the churchyard may behold a weird, myste- 
rious sight. 

Dim forms of earlier times are there, a shadowy, 

ghostly throng. 
(Too rarely do their names appear in history or 

song.) 

A common impulse brings them all, — the mistress 
and the slave, 

66 



KINGSTON, THE FIRST CAPITAL 

The dead from ancient battlefields, fair maidens, 
statesmen grave, 

Who bore so gallantly their part, — the simple as 

the great, 
In brave old Kingston. This their plea, ' We 

helped to make the State! " 

(We hear it not with outward ear, it thrills the 

silence through) 
" Remember this has cost us dear! Its future 

rests with you! " 



67 



"An American Hymn? 

Unto Thee, O The God Of Our Fathers. 



Words and Music 
by Mary Isabella Forsyth, 
arr.by H.C.GRUHNERT. 



mrr.for Band and Orchestra by F.FANCIU LLI '. 
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name. 


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CHORUS. 



fr £ l t i>- \ 'f-f-fr 'f H^ 



Lead, us on ev . er - more grac.ious Fa . ther a _ bove, 



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UlLJ J ij I J ^HJ-JhMtM 



Fl 



Brood, ing ov . er our land with thy light and thy love. 



;>" p : 6 i f f i 



P 



f ^ W 



fMW 89W 



NOV 29 1909 



